News Blog

Capcom Co. last week demonstrated the latest build of Street Fighter IV for the arcade, a tactical bout that holds classic and brand new mechanics to the fighting franchise.

New to the title is the Focus Attack, where players hold the medium punch and medium kick to execute a knock-down maneuver. The focus attack can wage more damage based on the length of time held. The longest hold delivers an un-blockable knock to the ground.

Also, the Focus Attack is incredibly flexible for pros who want to mix it into a fighting recipe. Users can dash into a Focus Attack and cancel a Focus Attack mid-way to fake out an opponent.

Traditional mechanics are also featured in the game, including crossovers, multi-hit juggles, and propel initiator attacks to knock opponents into the air.

Additionally, players can perform Super and Ultra moves performed by one fireball and all three punches or two fireballs and all three punches, respectively.

The four new characters are a blast to play and fit into the SF universe well. Crimson Viper is a female spy with quick punch and kick attacks; Abel, a bulky yet nimble martial artist who can run into then combo in various high and low attacks; El Fuerte, a Mexican wrestler with Vega-like speed and wall-bounce attacks; and Rufus, a quick fat man with a ground pound.

Veteran characters like Chun-Li, Guile and E. Honda carry all their traditional moves, some with new tweaks. Chun-Li’s fireball is now a Sonic Boom charge with each punch strength that determines the length; Guile can Sonic Boom and dash quickly to trail right behind it (or in some cases dash past it according to a Capcom representative); and E. Honda still deploys the hundred hand slap and torpedo moves.

A total of 16 characters were present in the build, with more to be added.

The graphics engine is very smooth at 60 frames per second. Players will have to get use to the polygonal character movement, but the hand-drawn textures for each character relay a new grade in fighting character detail. Animations all carry a high amount of flair, particularly Rufus’ fat belly, which is near hypnotic.

Street Fighter IV hit Japan arcades this month. It will be released for Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360, Sony Corp.’s Playstation 3, and the PC in spring 2009.